Ikeys brawl: no case opened

A young lady named Irini Agathagelou has posted a message to Carte Blanche on Facebook, telling of an alleged attack carried out by a UCT 1st XV player, after their historic comeback win against NWU Pukke

Cape Town - The Potchefstroom woman who claims she was assaulted by a UCT rugby player is yet to lodge a complaint with the police, while a video circulating on social media shows she threw the first punch.

Irini Agathagelou, a beauty therapy student at Potchefstroom Academy, said last week that she had suffered a concussion and had to get five stitches after being punched by Ikey Tigers flanker Kyle Kriel.

The incident took place after the team won the Varsity Cup in Potchefstroom on Monday night by beating the Pukke from North West University.

A video of a brawl, involving members of both teams, shows Agathagelou hitting Kriel first, before she is hit.

North West police spokeswoman Kelebogile Moiloa said no complaint had been lodged with the police.

“I saw the story in the newspapers. We then went to our records to check whether a case has been opened, but there was nothing. She has not come forward to report a case.”

On Friday, Kriel defended himself. He apologised for taking part in the brawl, but said that Agathagelou had been “extremely economical with the truth”.

According to Kriel, the brawl started after an altercation with one of the Pukke players at a Wimpy.

After the initial quarrel, he was asked to leave the Wimpy and he stepped outside. He saw one of the UCT team staff inside was in trouble and he ran back inside, Kriel said.

He punched one of the opposition players before their scuffle moved behind the counter. CCTV footage from the restaurant, which made its way on to YouTube, shows this and people trying to break up the fight. A policewoman is seen pepper-spraying those involved in the scuffle.

“I was sprayed in the face. This blinded me and I struggled to breathe. Someone, whom I could not see, continued to attack me and I lashed out blindly at my attacker to try and fend off the attack,” Kriel said.

A woman is seen hitting Kriel from the side while he is being held. The woman moves in front of him before throwing a punch. Kriel retaliates by throwing a punch.

“I stress that at the time I punched Agathagelou, I was blinded by pepper spray. I did not know that it was a woman who had attacked and punched me. If I was aware of this, I would not have punched her,” Kriel said.